Music as Pure Duration: a dialogue between music and philosophy by Joshua Robert Horsley A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Professional Doctorate in Creative Arts at the University of Central Lancashire February 2018. STUDENT DECLARATION FORM I declare that while registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been a registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution _________________________________________________________________ I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work _________________________________________________________________ Collaboration Where a candidate’s research programme is part of a collaborative project, the thesis must indicate in addition clearly the candidate’s individual contribution and the extent of the collaboration. Please state below: Signature of Candidate ______________________________________________________ Type of Award ______________________________________________________ School _______________________________________________________ Abstract Music as Pure Duration: a dialogue between music and philosophy is a multi- method Practice Based Research project that contributes to dialogue between music and philosophy within the field of music. The thesis is comprised of a compositional portfolio and written component. It places hybrid of New Music and Electroacoustics in dialogue with Metaphysics. By interpreting Bergson’s temporality and Husserl’s consciousness of internal time through music, it questions how temporality is distinct in music compared to physical objects and sound. Chapter One defines the study. Chapter Two focuses on the composition of Sedemus, reading the design schematic of a chair as instruction for music. It discusses the relationship between spatiality and temporality, accuracy and interpretation. Chapter Three critiques Sedemus, leading to the dialogic composition of Sedere Audire. It differentiates analytical knowledge from intuitive knowledge in the context of music and sound. Chapter Four offers music as a metaphysical concept, realized as Day Born. It investigates the heard and the audible. Underpinned by Husserl’s treatment of Phantasy, Image Consciousness, and Memory, it is succession, simultaneity, and continuity that appear critical to the differentiation of non-audio and audio entities. In the context of Hermann’s definition, Chapter Five focuses on analytical accuracy in the sonification of a cuboid and uncovers a tension between validity and aesthetics. Chapter Six presents compositions informed by the concepts of unfolding (in Struck), differentiating analysis and intuition (in Discern), and piano as object or musical instrument (in Reduce). Chapter Seven summarises the research findings and points towards continuing research. Sedemus, Sedere Audire, Day Born, and the sonifications demonstrate new insights gained through practical and philosophical analysis whilst Struck, Discern, and Reduce demonstrate tacit and intuitive knowledge. This research is intended to be of interest to musicians, especially those seeking to embed their music practice within philosophy. It is expected that philosophers with specific interest in temporality, Bergson, or Husserl, may also find interest. Contents Glossary i Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Music as Pure Duration 1 1.2 Practice Based Research 1 1.3 Reflective Practice 5 1.4 Contextual Framework 7 Chapter Two: Sedemus 9 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 Conception 9 2.3 Method for Realisation 11 2.4 Notation 17 2.5 Sedemus and Duration 22 2.6 Conclusion 24 Chapter Three: Sedere Audire 26 3.1 Introduction 26 3.2 Conception 27 3.3 Critiquing Sedemus 28 3.4 Dialogic Process 31 3.5 Composing Sedere Audire 32 3.6 Reflecting on Sedere Audire 34 3.7 Conclusion 41 Chapter Four: Day Born 43 4.1 Introduction 43 4.2 Music within Consciousness 45 4.3 Music in Phantasy, Image Consciousness, and Memory 46 4.4 Day Born as “heard” Music 48 4.5 Conclusion 52 Chapter Five: Sonification 56 5.1 Introduction 56 5.2 Definition and Contextualisation of Sonification Practices 57 5.3 Sonification Method 63 5.4 Sonification of Corporeal Spatial Occupancy 63 5.5 Sonification as Quantifiable Practice 64 5.6 Sonification as Music 65 5.7 Discussion 66 5.8 Conclusion 67 Chapter Six: Intuitive Compositions 68 6.1 Introduction 68 6.2 Struck 69 6.3 Discern 73 6.4 Reduce 76 6.5 Critical Reflection 79 Chapter Seven: Conclusion and Reflection 80 7.1 Conclusion 80 7.2 Reflection 82 Appendix 1. Sedemus Design Schematic and Score CD2 Appendix 2. Sedere Audire Score CD2 Appendix 3. Sedere Audire - Recording Notes CD2 Appendix 4. Sonification Method 85 Appendix 4.1 Experimental Miniature 1 - Scaled Distribution CD2 Appendix 4.2 Experimental Miniature 2 - Non-scaled Distribution CD2 Appendix 4.3 Six-fold Triangulation Chart CD2 Appendix 4.4 3D Model CD2 Appendix 4.5 Example Parameter/ Axis Chart CD2 Appendix 4.6a Experimental Miniature 3 - Motion CD2 Appendix 4.6b Experimental Miniature 3 - Motion (Static Isolated) CD2 Appendix 4.6c Experimental Miniature 3 - Motion (Motion Isolated) CD2 Appendix 4.7 Motion Parameter/ Axis Chart CD2 Bibliography 101 List of Figures Figure 1. Sedemus - Annotated plan view 1 12 Figure 2. Sedemus - Annotated front view 1 14 Figure 3. Sedemus - Annotated side elevation 1 15 Figure 4. Sedemus - Annotated side view 2 28 Figure 5. Sedemus - Annotated front view 2 28 Figure 6. Sedemus - Annotated plan view 2 28 Figure 7. Sedemus - Spatial Occupancy 29 Figure 8. Sedere Audire - Elevations 32 Figure 9. Sedere Audire - Annotated Elevations 33 Figure 10. Day Born 48 Figure 11. Discern Movement 2 Pitch Sequence 74 Figure A. Units to RP 86 Figure B. Max patch - Frequency, Amplitude, Phase 98 Accompanying Media CD1 - Compositional Portfolio 1. Sedemus [13’20”] 2. Sedere, Audire [16’00”] 3. Day Born 4. Struck [7’00”] 5. Discern [13’24”] 6. Reduce [12’43”] CD2 - Appendices and Figures Appendices Appendix 1. Sedemus Design Schematic and Score Appendix 2. Sedere Audire Score. Appendix 3. Sedere Audire - Recording Notes Appendix 4. Sonification Method Appendix 4.1. Experimental Miniature 1 - Scaled Distribution Appendix 4.2. Experimental Miniature 2 - Non-scaled Distribution. Appendix 4.3 Six-fold Triangulation Chart. Appendix 4.4. 3D Model. Appendix 4.5 Example Parameter/ Axis Chart. Appendix 4.6a. Experimental Miniature 3 – Motion Appendix 4.6b. Experimental Miniature 3 - Motion (Static Isolated). Appendix 4.6c. Experimental Miniature 3 - Motion (Motion Isolated). Appendix 4.7 Motion Parameter/ Axis Chart. Figures Figure 1. Sedemus - Annotated plan view 1 Figure 2. Sedemus - Annotated front view 1 Figure 3. Sedemus - Annotated side elevation 1 Figure 4. Sedemus - Annotated side view 2 Figure 5. Sedemus - Annotated front view 2 Figure 6. Sedemus - Annotated plan view 2 Figure 7. Sedemus - Spatial Occupancy Figure 8. Sedere Audire - Elevations Figure 9. Sedere Audire - Annotated Elevations Figure 10. Day Born Figure 11. Discern Movement 2 Pitch Sequence Figure A. Units to RP Figure B. Max patch - Frequency, Amplitude, Phase Glossary The purpose of this glossary is to present philosophical and technical terms that may be outside the working knowledge of musicians. Consciousness According to Husserl (1960), consciousness describes the experience of mental states with intentionality and temporality comprising its two primary features. Corporeal spatial occupancy Refers to solid, physical objects that occupy space. Decibels relative to Full Scale (dBFS) dBFS is a unit of measurement for amplitude in digital systems. Epoché Refers to the philosophical concept of suspending/ modifying judgment of the natural world to instead focus upon experience. Levine (2017) states: ‘So the epoche therefore entails a change of attitude to reality, not the exclusion of reality. In this way the world is still something for me, but only as the pure correlate of my subjective acts, as something that is given’. Heard In this thesis, I use the term heard to refer to audio that is perceived within internal consciousness and does not require physical existence as sound to be perceived. Intentionality Husserl (1960, p.33) refers to intentionality as a mental state that is directed at something, and writes: ‘Conscious processes are also called intentional […] the word intentionality signifies nothing else than this universal fundamental property of consciousness: to be conscious of something’. Intuition Bergson (1903) refers to intuition as a way of knowing that is informed by experience as opposed to analysis. Bergson (1903, p.2) writes: ‘By intuition is meant the kind of intellectual sympathy by which one places oneself within an object in order to coincide with what is unique in it…’. Image Consciousness Husserl (2005, p.251) refers to image consciousness as imagining something that is not present and offers a literary analogy: ‘Take the case of reading a novel in which the hero phantasies, dreams, remembers. The story in the novel: It is not, however, an actual story; on the contrary, it only represents such a story. This is an image consciousness’. i Metaphysics In Bergson’s (1903) ‘Introduction to Metaphyics’, he argues that metaphysics is a science for intuitive knowledge (as opposed to analytical knowledge) which expounds the pertinence of being, existence, and reality. Objectivity I use the term objectivity in this thesis to refer specifically to the